Balancing act: North Korea players, bound for World Cup 2010, in training

The Coach: Kim Jong-Hun (North Korean). WC experience: Player: None. Coach: None.

Little is known about the country’s team or the coach - who was said to have suffered a stroke - but with Sven Goran Eriksson linked with the job, it is unsure whether Kim will lead them in South Africa.

The Country: North Korea qualified for the World Cup finals for the first time since 1966 following a goalless draw in Saudi Arabia, watched by 66,000 fans.

Iran's failure to defeat South Korea in Seoul earlier meant that North Korea only needed a draw in Riyadh. North Korea's Kim Yong Jun was sent off in the fifth minute of injury-time, but by then his team were all but through.

Their programme included a 1-1 home draw against rivals South Korea, and though they lost in Seoul and in Iran, they won enough points to reach South Africa.

Memories abound, since then, about the 1966 World Cup in England when North Korea - a team of 11 army officers - famously beat Italy at Middlesbrough's Ayresome Park. In the quarter-finals they led Portugal 3-0 at one stage before going down 5-3 as Eusebio inspired a remarkable comeback at Goodison Park.

Recently, the country played its first international football match in Europe since 1966, in France against Republic of Congo, but few hints of what is to come was on offer, with six key players absent.

The national team, which is a young side, is possibly North Korea’s most globalised institution, as it includes some Japanese-born players, such as Jong Tae-Se and one - Hong Yong-Jo - who plays in Russia.